title: Monocytes control natural killer cell differentiation to effector phenotypes.
abstract: Natural killer (NK) cells play a major role in immunologic surveillance of cancer. Whether NK-cell subsets have specific roles during antitumor responses and what the signals are that drive their terminal maturation remain unclear. Using an in vivo model of tumor immunity, we show here that CD11b(hi)CD27(low) NK cells migrate to the tumor site to reject major histocompatibility complex class I negative tumors, a response that is severely impaired in Txb21(-/-) mice. The phenotypical analysis of Txb21-deficient mice shows that, in the absence of Txb21, NK-cell differentiation is arrested specifically at the CD11b(hi)CD27(hi) stage, resulting in the complete absence of terminally differentiated CD11b(hi)CD27(low) NK cells. Adoptive transfer experiments and radiation bone marrow chimera reveal that a Txb21(+/+) environment rescues the CD11b(hi)CD27(hi) to CD11b(hi)CD27(low) transition of Txb21(-/-) NK cells. Furthermore, in vivo depletion of myeloid cells and in vitro coculture experiments demonstrate that spleen monocytes mediate the terminal differentiation of peripheral NK cells in a Txb21- and IL-15Rα-dependent manner. Together, these data reveal a novel, unrecognized role for Txb21 expression in monocytes in promoting NK-cell development and help appreciate how various NK-cell subsets are generated and participate in antitumor immunity.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Centre for Transplantation, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Katrina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Soderquest
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.forename: Carmelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Luci
authors.forename: Nico
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: van Rooijen
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hidalgo
authors.forename: Frederic
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Geissmann
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Walzer
authors.forename: Graham M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Lord
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martín-Fontecha
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D039481:CD11b Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000276:immunology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009000:Monocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D010641:Phenotype; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018127:Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Superfamily, Member 7 / Q000378:metabolism; D000098815:T-bet Transcription Factor
chemical_list: D039481:CD11b Antigen; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins; D000098815:T-bet Transcription Factor; D018127:Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Superfamily, Member 7